IR spectroscopy measurements may be useful for a variety of purposes including aerospace, automotive and industrial applications, as well as biological and bio-medical applications. For example, infrared (IR) radiation is readily absorbed by materials in association with relative motions (vibrations) of bonds between common atoms such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. As such, IR spectroscopy measurements may indicate a condition and/or identity of a wide variety of organic as well as inorganic materials.
Polymer composite materials such as fiber-resin-based materials including carbon fiber reinforced plastic composite materials have been widely used for a variety of purposes including as a structural material. Increasingly, it is desirable to recycle polymer materials including polymer composite materials.
In performing recycling processes, it is first desirable to know the chemical make-up or resin type of a particular CFRP composite material. For example, subsequent processing steps including optimal heat treatments may depend on the particular resin system.
Prior art methods for determining chemical properties of a resin material such as commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,145,147, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, include using optical interfaces such as filters and ATR crystals positioned on a sample surface to determine a normalized TR absorbance of sample material. In addition, a relatively bulky IR spectrometer is useable where the source and the detector are separately positioned to make an IR measurement, such as in a controlled environment.
While the prior art methods and TR apparatus may be desirably useable in a controlled environment where IR absorbance is separately collected and compared in a relatively time-consuming process, it would be additionally desirable to make IR spectroscopy measurements in a relatively quick and simple manner in a field setting.
Accordingly there is a need for a method for making IR spectroscopy measurements and an IR spectrometer that overcomes at least some of the drawbacks of prior art including making IR spectroscopy field measurements in a relatively quick and simple manner.